What is Washboard Express?

Washboard Express is a way for me to express my own opinions, to be a provocative gadfly, by writing a "letter a day" to the President. I may miss a day here and there, because sometimes my family with be my first priority, but my goal is to write a total of 365 letters, representing one full year. To say I have opinions about most things would be to understate the obvious. Those of you that know me, know this is true, those who don't know me, will learn that it's true. The Washboard is a reference to going back to basics and "keeping it clean," so if you would like me to post your comments or opinions on this blog, I only ask that you be respectful. So go ahead, express yourself, and I look forward to an exchange of ideas and opinions.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Letter 101... Dear Mr. President... How you could lose 101 million votes.

Letter 101

Dear Mr. President,

There are about 101 million reasons why you need to address two very insidious things currently taking place under the noses of the American people. Those 101 million reasons are potential votes that you could lose in the next election.

While many people are distracted by the circus-like shenanigans happening on the GOP campaign trail, efforts have been underway by the Republican Party to usurp yet another election in 2012, an election you must win Mr. President.

Since Republicans won control of many Statehouses in November 2010, fourteen (14) have passed laws requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. The Republicans claim it’s to stop voter fraud, although the Supreme Court, even while upholding an Indiana law, said they found no evidence of voter fraud. So why the rush to pass these restrictive laws… It’s very simple… to make it harder for the young, disabled, rural, elderly, homeless, minority and low-income Americans to vote. It’s the most significant rollback in voting rights in decades. Although this should come as no surprise, as most of those affected are traditionally Democratic voters… it should most certainly be a wake-up-call for all Americans.

To show you how absurd these laws are, one only need look at the Texas law that allows persons with a license to carry a concealed weapon would be an acceptable form of ID, but not student ID cards. Does that sound fair to you Mr. President?

The other nefarious plot by the Republican Party is cloaked in secrecy under the law passed by the Republican Congress in 2006 that requires the USPS to “prepay” 75 years of health benefits for its workers. No corporation has ever been required to prepay like that. No government agency has ever had to prepay like that, so why did they pass such an egregious law targeting the USPS, even though the USPS has not received one thin dime in tax money since 1970?

Could it be that Republicans want to force the USPS to close thousands of rural post offices, and laying off thousands of postal workers in order to gain yet another advantage at the polls? Many rural areas depend on ‘vote by mail’ ballots delivered by the USPS, and without those post offices, many will not be able to vote. Neither UPS nor FedEx are required by law to service rural or sparsely populated areas, as is the USPS. As Ralph Nader recently pointed out, closing regional offices hurts rural people, it hurts the poor, it hurts the elderly, and the disabled. Yes, that’s right… the very same group that traditionally vote for Democrats.

So Mr. President, if 101 million votes are not enough to catch your attention, then I don’t know what is… I just know that you really need to address these issues now, before it is too late to stop this assault on American voters rights.

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About Me

Having just retired after 15 years in magazine publishing, I thought I would venture into the wide world of Blogging. In my 66 years I've gained some insight about a few things. Most are silly observations about life in general. Some are serious, involving politics, and what I perceive to be right and wrong. My goal is to be somewhat of a gadfly, so if I goad you one way or the other, I've accomplished my goal.